Axles.

[greenmeanie]

It's Friday and I'm bored staring at the biege walls of my cubicle. Office Space anyone.

Well since I have been mooching around he Chevy forums finding out about my 292 inline 6 I had the thought about DANA 60 axles vs Rover's Salisburies.

I think the 1 tons and maybe some 3/4 tonChevy pickups had DANA 60 front ends which are pretty cheap and readily available. Does anyone have details of the side gear spline count and differences in bearing assemblies etc. In a wild flight of fancy I was contemplating what it would take to make a DANA 60 front axle for a Rover.

In it's simplest form it would be shortening the axle tube, modifying the spring perches and shortening the inner axles.

An alternate would be shorten the axle case to that of a 109 1 ton and weld on flanges to take the swivels on out from a Defender 127. I think the rapier tractors used Sals front ends so it would give you disc brakes etc. The art here would be to swap the Chevy diff side gears for Rover ones to make it possible to use the Rover axles.

Someone throw rocks at this please. I know it would be $$$ but it's a fun idea to contemplate.

Cheers
Gregor

[Mercedesrover]

Late '70s (?) Ford P/UPs had a right-side drop Dana 44 in them with disc brakes. Lop off the ends, and maintain the Rover stuff on the outside or just narrow it a bit, retain the discs but not the Rover bolt pattern for the wheels. All kinds of crazy things you can do given the time, money, patience and a little skill.

jim

[leafsprung]

There are a ton of 60 front end varients. Most are 30 spline 2 pin, they have a different yoke, pinion seals etc.

[yorker]

What! Ike- why aren't you trying to talk Gregor into Eatons?

http://www.fourwheeler.com/howto/129_0301_axle/index.html

[I Leak Oil]

You'd have to match gear ratio's also. I've always liked the idea of modifying Ford 9" front and rear....While D60's are strong they are also heavy and probably overkill for most series projects. As the saying goes, ya can't have too much insurance!
Jason T.

[yorker]

I had someone offer me a narrowed Ford 9 for a LR once and I turned it down, I don't know why I did that...

[greenmeanie]

Well I'm off to the scrappies tomorrow to hopefully pick up an NP435 from a Ford. I think I may spend an extra hour or so poking around underneath some old pick ups. They're alien territory for me because in the UK we use Ford tranny vans instead.

Now I do like those Rockwells in the article Yorker posted. A bit overkill maybe but anything a Jeep can do...


Cheers
Gregor

[yorker]

here you go:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=260227753142&Category=42609&_trksid=p3907.m29

Can't you talk Ike into making a SM465 adapter?

[leafsprung]

so much overlap between the salsbury and D60 though, makes em roverish

[yorker]

Yeah someone shoukld write up a good FAQ on the Sals- It is an interesting axle. But aren't the Eatons kind of ENVish?

[greenmeanie]

here you go:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=260227753142&Category=42609&_trksid=p3907.m29

Can't you talk Ike into making a SM465 adapter?

Well I haven't spoken to Ike about that yet. I stopped in at the scrappy during the week to make sure they had a Ford of the right age. If its an NP435 and I pull it I can have it for $34. For that I'll do it even if all I do is stick it on the bench and pet it, and stroke it, and call it George.

I've also got to spend some time under the old girl with a measuring tape. Is there any difference in length between a 4 and 6 cyl gearbox? Eyeballing it through the muck the 6 cyl seems to be longer. I need the engine to stay put to clear the bulkhead and provide radiator space. I want to keep the transfer case in its current position to save me altering mounts and so I can retain my prop shafts.

My next job will be to investigate Chevy Bell housings as there seems to be a lot of them out there. Are they all the same length? I know some were cast iron and some ally. Then there is the hole for mounting the gearbox - 4 9/16 or 5 1/8 diameter. Then it looks like there were differences in the clutch arrangement.That begs the question about which suits my purposes best? I'm looking at a Chevy 292 to Np435 to LR high ration transfer case. The SM 420/465 would simplify the front end but would be very custom for the transfer case adapter.

I've lots of investigating to do before I go bothering Ike.

Cheers
Gregor

[leafsprung]

Yeah someone shoukld write up a good FAQ on the Sals- It is an interesting axle. But aren't the Eatons kind of ENVish?

Similar design but they share no parts and parts are not interchangeable. The sals is VERY close to the 60 in that parts will interchange

[yorker]

I tried to track down the connection between the Eaton and the ENV but could never really nail it down. Ike didn't you put FC ENV's under one of your projects?

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/ftopic22264.php&highlight=np435

Gregor you could also look for a T18 or T98 but the 435 would be a better choice. I don't know if Ike is still making them or not?? I think he said the batch he did was something of a one off deal. Maybe Ike will do another one off deal of SM465 adapters instead.

Cooper still might be making the np435 adapters too if you can find a way to get ahold of him, A friend of mine fairly recently got one.

[greenmeanie]

I want to know EXACTLY what I want and have the money in hand before I go to anyone. I like Ike's work so he'll be first stop.

[Alaska Mike]

Check the Novak adapters website on swap info for various US truck transmissions and engines. While geared towards Jeeps, it's certainly a good resource. I'm using a couple of their adapters in my Series III 88 (bellhousing and transmission/transfercase adapter).

If you want the Novak adapters to use a hydraulic clutch linkage with a GM V-6 or V-8 (fork, slave cyl, and bracket), let me know. I have them still as they were shipped to me (in plastic), and we might work a deal.